Make It With You
by PurpleCardi
Summary: A first year med student and a rookie cop find each other amidst the social and political turmoil of the early 1970s.
1. A New Beginning

**A/N: Just an idea that came to me awhile ago. I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think. :)**

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The clock approached ten on the night of December 31, 1969, and Maura Isles was in bed—alone in bed just as she was every night.

She shared her tiny graduate housing apartment with another young woman who was rarely home, which often made Maura feel as if she lived alone and when her roommate was home her boyfriend often accompanied her. She never exiled Maura, per se, but her roommate wasn't opposed to having sex with her boyfriend in the next bed. At first, Maura tried her hardest to go about her business as if nothing was happening, but after a few minutes she knew it'd be best if she'd just leave. This happened at least once or twice a week and, on those nights, Maura would find herself at the library with her textbooks. She'd lose sleep, but academically she'd benefit from her roommate's nights of having sex in their room.

Maura had tried to get to know her roommate, but after four months of living together all she knew was that her name was Beverly and she was a first-year law student who had completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard, but was originally from somewhere in the Midwest. That was all the information Maura had on her and most of it she learned from the document she had been given shortly before moving into graduate housing and the Harvard diploma Beverly had hung on the wall. She asked nothing about Maura and Maura dared not ask anything about her.

As Maura continued to lie on her bed, she began to reflect on her life and all she had missed out on. It was the last day of the 1960s and, the more she thought the more she realized she hadn't truly experienced the decade. In the '60s alone she had promoted from junior high school, graduated from high school and college and managed to get into medical school. Her achievements were many, but Maura realized that she hadn't _lived_. At the age of twenty-two she hadn't a single friend and her romantic encounters were few. She had kissed a fair amount of young men during her undergraduate years, but those kisses were enough for her to know that she wasn't interested in men. The summer after her college graduation, Maura had gone on a date with a woman, but after Maura began talking so excitedly about medical school the night ended without a kiss and without a promise that her date would call her—and she didn't call Maura or stop to chat with her when they saw each other on campus in the fall.

The more she thought about the '60s, the more she realized she wanted to forget them. The '60s were a lonely time in Maura's life, but the '70s were going to be different. At that moment, she vowed to overcome her nervousness and make friends or at least a few acquaintances she could talk to. She wanted a love life, maybe even her first relationship. Maura Isles was going to be like the women she secretly envied and she was going to make it happen now.

Before she could get up from her bed, her roommate and her boyfriend stumbled into the room already drunk from the alcohol they had consumed at a nearby party.

"Happy 1970," her roommate Beverly said as she kissed Maura on the cheek. Her breath smelled of cheap vodka and Maura was taken aback by how friendly she was when she was drunk.

"It's still 1969," was all Maura could respond.

"The '60s are going to be over," Beverly's boyfriend told Maura, his shirt already flung over the headboard of Beverly's bed. "There's going to be an end to this war and an end to inequality. It's like a new beginning."

_It's like a new beginning_, Maura kept in mind as she quietly grabbed her purse a few minutes later and slipped out of the room unnoticed.

It was nearing eleven o'clock and the streets of Boston were filled with people ready to ring in the new year—people who, unlike Maura, were actually enjoying themselves.

To escape the cold, Maura entered the first bar she noticed. Her intentions that night weren't to spend the new year in a dimly lit bar, but Maura wasn't quite sure what her intentions were to begin with. She hadn't been invited to any parties and she had no one to kiss when the clock struck midnight or, at the very least, somebody to talk to.

The bar was crowded because of the holiday, but even in the crowd Maura still couldn't lose herself. Earlier that night, she had entertained the idea of going out, but since it was a decision thrust upon her by her roommate arriving home early, Maura had no time to change her clothes before leaving her room. Instead of the stylish attire worn by the other bar patrons, Maura arrived in her college sweater and a pair of jeans.

"Are you old enough to be here?" a young woman about her age asked as Maura took a seat next to her. She had an unpleasant demeanor and Maura would have sat elsewhere had that particular bar stool not been the only seat in the entire bar that had just become available. "BCU? Where's your sorority pin?"

"Sororities are for undergraduates," Maura responded. "I'm in medical school."

"Congratulations."

Unable to detect her sarcasm, Maura smiled politely at her. "Thank you."

Maura looked at the empty beer bottles in front of the woman sitting next to her. There were three and she was currently drinking her fourth beer. Whether she had been sitting there for hours or if she quickly chugged each one, Maura wasn't sure, but what she could be sure of was something about this woman fascinated her.

She turned around to glare at Maura. "Do you have a staring problem?"

Maura looked at her long hair and unkempt appearance. "Are you a hippie?"

"_Excuse _me?" The woman narrowed her eyes at her.

"No," Maura shook her head. "You're not a hippie. Hippies are friendly."

"I'm not a hippie," she snapped. "I'm a cop, which is the exact _opposite_ of a hippie. Instead of dropping acid and wearing flowers in my hair, I'm actually doing something with my life. I take care of myself. I'm not soul searching like all these hippies or living a sheltered life in medical school like you are."

The young woman pulled some cash out of her pocket and placed it on the counter. Without saying another word, she left Maura and the bar altogether.

"That's Jane," the bartender said as he grabbed the cash Jane had left. He was a man in his early to mid-forties and, unlike Jane, Maura hoped he was someone she could actually talk to. "Don't let her scare you."

"She didn't scare me," Maura reassured him. "She's intriguing."

"Don't let her hear you say that," the bartender smirked.

"Is she okay?"

"As okay as she's gonna be," he said as he opened a bottle of beer for another patron. "Jane's always been a good kid. I've known her since she was a baby."

"What happened to her?"

"It's not my place to say anything," he responded before leaving to take someone else's drink order.

Without having placed an order for a drink that night, Maura had no tab to settle, so she left the bar in hopes that she'd be able to catch up to Jane. She didn't know if Jane would actually talk to her and, after the way Maura had questioned her in the bar, she knew Jane had no reason to even _want _to talk to her, but for some reason she felt compelled to take a chance.

Maura didn't have to look any further than the curb down the street from the bar before she found Jane but, unfortunately, she wasn't alone. She was sitting next to a teenage couple and Maura could have sworn she heard the girl crying. Her boyfriend's arms were wrapped around her and she kept repeating, "I'm not going to let you leave me."

"Lydia, I'll be okay," he tried to reassure her. Her face was now buried in his shoulder and Jane grabbed hold of her hand.

"Tommy is tough," Jane's voice quivered. "He'll be okay."

"We'll get married," Lydia said frantically. "Maybe they won't make you go if we get married."

"I'm gonna take her home," Tommy said to Jane. "I don't want her out too late. We tried to celebrate New Year's Eve, but…"

"It's okay," Jane smiled. "I wasn't going to let you use your fake ID anyway."

"The perks of having a cop for a sister," Tommy smirked.

Jane playfully punched him in the arm. "If you tried to buy alcohol, I could either arrest you or tell Ma and I'm not sure which one is worse."

A sudden realization hit Maura and she wished she could have taken back her earlier interactions with Jane. Jane wasn't unfriendly; she had a lot weighing on her mind, most of which Maura couldn't even begin to fathom. This young man she was talking to was her younger brother, or so Maura had gathered from listening to their conversation. Her younger brother, someone she was protective of, had been drafted and there was nothing Jane could do for him.

Hoping to go unnoticed, Maura looked at her watch as Jane said goodbye to Tommy and Lydia. _Ten seconds left of the '60s, _she thought. _10...9…8…_

"Are you stalking me now?" Jane asked, standing no more than five feet away from Maura. While checking the time and mentally counting down to the new year, she had completely lost touch with her surroundings.

"No," Maura shook her head as she looked at her watch yet again. _3…2…1…_

It was now 1970. She looked across the street and saw a couple kissing and small groups of people celebrating. There was an eruption of noise in the bar and, everywhere around her, people seemed so happy and full of life, but instead of being one of the crowd she was standing face-to-face with the young woman whom she had found so intriguing earlier. She had no idea what to say to Jane, yet for some reason she wanted so desperately to keep her near.


	2. Call It Chivalry

**A/N: Thank you for the feedback on the first chapter. It really means a lot to me and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I know there's one particular phrase in here that 2013 Jane wouldn't say, but I had to keep in mind that this was young, '70s Jane. Enjoy and your feedback is always welcome. :)**

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The longer Maura stared at Jane, the more frustrated she became. "If you're not stalking me, then what are you doing? Why aren't you in the bar? Why aren't you anywhere and doing anything other than standing right here?"

This woman in front of her—this _Jane_—was callous and maybe it was because of the alcohol she had consumed or maybe she was keeping her guard up, Maura wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was instantaneously attracted to this woman. It was purely a physical attraction, but it was an attraction nonetheless.

Jane was unlike the women Maura usually found herself attracted to. She wasn't a clean-cut college girl and she was a little rougher around the edges than what Maura preferred, but there was just something about Jane that turned her on more than she'd like to admit. When the breeze blew a few strands of dark curly hair from behind Jane's ear and onto her face, Maura instinctively reached for her, but before Maura could come in contact with Jane's hair Jane gently grabbed her by the wrist.

It wasn't how Maura had hoped Jane would first touch her and the feeling of Jane's hand wrapped around her wrist was making her uncomfortable. Maura immediately freed herself from Jane's grasp and kept her arms crossed. "I'm sorry," she said as she averted her eyes.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," Jane insisted.

"I shouldn't have touched you."

"You were fixing my hair," Jane smirked. "It's not like you were trying to hurt me. I overreacted."

"You overreacted in the bar, too," Maura pointed out. She noticed that Jane looked more at ease and she so desperately wanted to keep engaging her in conversation even if she had nothing in particular to say. "You're a police officer?"

"I am," Jane responded. Her eyes lit up at the mere mention of her career and Maura hoped she would continue. "When I was a little girl, I wanted to be just like Annie Oakley and as I grew up I figured this was the next best thing."

"Only 1.4 percent of police officers are women," Maura stated. It was a statistic she had read in a magazine article about women in the workforce and she was thrilled that it had relevance in their conversation.

Jane flashed her a half-smile that put Maura at ease. "You're a trip."

"I'm a trip?"

"You are," Jane responded. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Yes," Maura nodded. "My roommate's boyfriend is a hippie and he always says that about me."

"I'm not a hippie," Jane scoffed. "Besides, you said hippies are friendly and I wasn't being friendly to you."

Maura's eyes focused on a twine necklace Jane was wearing and she wondered what medallion was at the end of it. With the medallion hidden under Jane's coat, Maura had no choice but to reach over yet again. She had expected Jane to grab her wrist, so she was surprised when Jane assisted her. Maura gently touched the peace sign medallion, which confirmed her earlier suspicions. "It's a peace sign."

"That doesn't mean I'm a hippie," Jane remarked. "My brothers and I all have these. They wear theirs all the time and I wear mine when I'm off duty."

"Why?" Maura asked as she continued to hold the medallion in her hand.

"It's something I don't talk about," Jane shrugged. She gently took the medallion from Maura's hand and tucked it back under her coat.

"I'm Maura," she responded after deciding to leave the subject of the necklace alone.

"Jane."

"I know."

"You know?" Jane asked. "How?"

"The bartender," Maura said nonchalantly. "He said he's known you since you were a baby. Does that mean he knew you in your Annie Oakley phase?"

"Yeah," Jane smiled. "Do you want me to call you a cab or something? It's getting late and I don't want you walking by yourself."

Maura averted her eyes. "My roommate and her boyfriend are using the apartment tonight and the all-night library on campus is closed for the holiday."

"What about your parents?"

"They don't live in Boston."

"Friends?"

Her questioning was starting to make Maura feel pathetic. She had no friends, no family asking about her, and she had reduced herself to following a woman in hopes that something—anything—would happen. "I don't have any friends."

"I'm not going to let you spend the night outside by yourself. I could walk you to a hotel nearby…" Maura noticed Jane start to hesitate. She put her hands in her pockets and looked down at the ground instead of directly at Maura. "…or you could come to my place."

_I could go to her place. _"No, I couldn't," Maura responded in hopes that Jane would ask her again.

"You'll be doing me a favor," Jane insisted. "I'd spend the rest of the night worrying about you if you stayed out here. I don't usually ask my stalkers to go home with me, but—"

"You have stalkers?" Maura interrupted.

"It was a joke," Jane narrowed her eyes. "And this is another reason why I can't let you spend the night out here."

"Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?"

"Because you're kinda cute now that I've gotten a closer look at you."

Maura wondered if this was another one of Jane's jokes. "You think I'm cute?"

"You really are a trip," Jane smirked, completely dismissing Maura's question.

While they walked to Jane's apartment, Maura became aware of how protective Jane could be. She wasn't sure if it was force of habit or if Jane genuinely cared, but it was the first time anyone had ever wanted to protect her. Now that Jane had started to warm up to her, Maura became even more intrigued. She wanted to know about the necklaces and why a medallion attached to a strand of twine was so secretive. She wanted to know about Tommy being drafted and why she was alone on New Year's Eve. There was also whether or not Jane really thought she was cute or if she was just trying to be nice. There were other questions she wanted to ask Jane, but she felt as if she should keep some of them to herself and let Jane open up to her when she was ready.

Instead Maura stated an observation. "You're making me walk on the left of you."

"Call it chivalry," Jane said without even turning to look at Maura.

The streets were slightly wet from the rain that had fallen earlier in the day and when a car drove by and narrowly avoided splashing them, Maura realized just why Jane had her walk on the left. "You almost got splashed for me."

"Chivalry," Jane repeated. "I don't want you all cold and wet as we're walking."

It was a simple act of kindness, but it was still more than she had expected from Jane or from anybody. Without hesitation, Maura leaned in and kissed Jane on the cheek.

"What's that about?" Jane asked as she wiped Maura's pale pink lipstick off of her cheek.

"I'm—I'm sorry," Maura stammered.

"For that lousy kiss on the cheek?" Jane smiled. Maura was prepared for Jane to smile at her or for Jane to even make fun of her, but she was completely unprepared for what Jane was about to do next. She wrapped her arms around Maura and firmly pressed her lips to hers. "That's how you kiss a woman."

At twenty-two years old, it was Maura's first actual kiss from a woman and, although they had returned to walking, Maura swore she could still feel Jane's lips touching hers.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," Maura responded. She was okay—she was _better _than okay. The year had just begun and it was already off to a better start than she could have ever imagined.

"If that's not your thing, I—"

"No, no," Maura interrupted. "It is. You just took me by surprise."

Jane quickly turned to Maura and smugly responded. "I'll ask next time."

"You think there's going to be a—"

Before she could finish her question, Jane pulled her in and kissed her again. "I forgot to ask, but you were about to question whether there'd be a next time."

Jane was bringing out a playful side in Maura and she hoped she was having the same effect on Jane. "I'm glad we're going back to your place," Maura whispered in her ear.

"Why?"

"For this." She decided to be bold and kiss Jane even more passionately than Jane had kissed her. This time there would be no peck on the lips. When Maura slowly slipped her tongue in Jane's mouth, she felt herself get weak in the knees. She had never imagined kissing a woman like Jane but there she was in the middle of a sidewalk after midnight on the first day of 1970 and it was even better than she had ever imagined. Unlike the young men Maura had kissed, Jane's lips were soft and there was no stubble irritating her face. Instead of aftershave and cologne, Maura smelled lavender perfume and berry-scented shampoo. Nearly every young woman she had ever encountered had some floral-scented perfume, lavender or honeysuckle in particular, but lavender perfume on Jane was absolutely intoxicating. It might only be for a single night, but Maura had found a young woman that she couldn't stop kissing.

"We should hurry before someone sees us," Jane said to her. Her tone was playful, but Maura could sense the urgency. Although there was nobody outside near Jane's apartment building, two women engaging in a public display of affection might warrant unwanted attention if anybody decided to drive by or walk outside.

"You're a police officer. You can protect us," Maura brought to her attention.

"Like you said, only 1.4 percent of police officers are women," Jane reminded her. "I already have to prove myself because I'm a woman. I don't need the lesbian label attached to me. I'm proud of who I am and my family knows and accepts me, but I don't need everyone to know. My personal life is just that—personal."

"I'm not out," Maura said as the slowly climbed the stairs up to Jane's second floor apartment, so as not to disturb Jane's neighbors.

"You don't think your parents would be accepting?"

"My personal life is personal," Maura mimicked Jane's tone.

Although she had enjoyed walking with Jane to her apartment, she was grateful that they had finally reached their destination because the longer she looked at Jane the more she felt herself physically ache for her. Now that she knew what it was like to kiss Jane, she never wanted to stop and she was thrilled that Jane didn't want to stop either.

The moment they entered her apartment, Jane leaned against the wall and pulled Maura into her. This was her opportunity and Maura wasn't going to waste it. Jane wanted her just as much as she wanted Jane and all she could focus on was her need to please her.

Maura was familiar with the female anatomy and the way women's bodies responded to sexual stimulation, but without any sexual experience she hoped what she read in books would translate into what she was planning on doing to Jane.

"This isn't the reason I asked you to come over," Jane pointed out. "But it's an added surprise."

Maura paid little attention to what Jane said and focused her attention on stripping Jane of her coat. "Let's go to your bedroom."

Her words brought out an almost predatory urge in Jane and Maura squealed with delight as Jane lifted her up and carried her to her bed.

It was all part of a new beginning for Maura and as she lied on the bed and watched Jane quickly strip herself of every inch of clothing, she knew what she was about to experience with Jane would change her forever.


	3. Mydriasis

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of the feedback. Your comments about the story and linking it to the song by Bread make me incredibly happy. So far, the story has been focused on Maura, but let me know if you'd like Jane-centered chapters as well. :)**

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Maura's clothing and undergarments lied in a messy pile on the side of Jane's bed. Although Jane had undressed in front of her so quickly, Maura hadn't paid attention to the amount of time it had taken for her to remove her own clothing because all of her focus was on Jane. She was enamored of Jane's body not only because she was beautiful but because she was unlike any of the other young women Maura had encountered. Jane was tall and lanky, yet she wasn't insecure about her appearance. Her beauty was unconventional and Maura wondered if Jane had always been beautiful or if she had recently grown into her looks. She imagined Jane as an awkward child—nothing but skin and bones—but her entire thought process was interrupted when she felt Jane's lips grazing against her skin.

Jane was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands slowly trailing along Maura's thighs. While standing directly in front of her, Maura had never felt so exposed in her life and she wondered how Jane could feel so comfortable. It wasn't her first time, she was sure of it, but what number was Maura on Jane's list? Exactly how many women had been in her bed before and what—if anything—did they mean to her? She wanted to ask Jane what the expected outcome would be after that night. Would they go on a date? Would they do this again? _Just enjoy yourself,_ Maura then tried to keep in mind. _It's a new year and a new beginning for you._

Maura felt herself go into overdrive when Jane nibbled the sensitive skin near her bellybutton. The more Maura reacted, the harder Jane bit until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Ow!"

Jane gently kissed the afflicted area. A mark had already started to form and Maura hoped it would serve as a reminder of her time with Jane.

"Maura?"

"Yes?"

Jane kissed the mark again. "If there's anything I'm doing that you don't like, I want you to tell me."

"I will," Maura nodded. She wasn't sure where she had gotten the nerve, but she knew she had to be even closer to Jane. With her legs now wrapped around Jane's waist, she leaned in to kiss her.

"I want you," Jane whispered in her ear.

"You do," Maura said matter-of-factly.

"I like when women are confident," Jane admitted before delicately nibbling on Maura's neck. Maura was going to have multiple marks on her body when she returned to her apartment, but each mark told a story and she hoped Beverly—or anybody—would ask even if it meant outing herself.

"I'm not confident," Maura pointed out. "Your body is telling me that you want me. You're releasing the hormone oxytocin and that's causing moderate mydriasis."

"Mydri-what?"

"Mydriasis," Maura repeated. "Your pupils are dilated—very dilated, which means you are strongly sexually aroused." She looked at Jane's pupils yet again. "And now it's mild mydriasis. You're not as aroused anymore. Jane, is something—"

"Everything's fine," Jane interrupted. "Let's just focus more on kissing instead of talking."

In all of her twenty-two years, many adjectives had been used to describe Maura, but confident was never one of them unless she was in the classroom. She had been called awkward, boring, and sometimes even annoying, but with Jane she felt like a different person. For the first time Maura felt beautiful and maybe even sexy, or so she thought.

"Are you cold?" Jane asked, bringing Maura back to reality.

"No."

"You're trembling," Jane pointed out. "We can get under the covers."

Maura knew she wasn't cold and at that moment she realized all she had was a false sense of confidence. She knew the reason she was trembling was out of fear, but she hoped she could overcome that fear and enjoy her night with Jane.

They were lying side by side underneath the covers until Jane maneuvered herself on top of her. Maura reveled in the skin to skin contact she was experiencing for the first time and she felt herself become even more aroused as Jane spread her legs just wide enough to fit perfectly in between.

"Why don't you tell me what you're into?" Jane asked as she delicately tucked a strand of hair behind Maura's ear.

"Into?" Maura tried to be confident, but judging by the way Jane had started to look at her, she knew she had failed.

"Sexually," Jane clarified. "What are you into sexually? Every woman is different. Or maybe I could just find out for myself."

Maura wanted to ask if she meant every woman she had been with or just every woman in general, but instead she smiled and responded with, "This is fine."

"I'm not really doing anything," Jane smirked.

Maura bit her lip to stall for time. She feared the outcome of her confession, but she just couldn't lie—to Jane or anybody for that matter. "This is my first time."

"Your first time?"

"I've never been with a woman before," Maura confessed. "I've never had sex. Before tonight, I had never kissed a woman."

"What about men?" Jane asked in disbelief. "Have you had sex with men before?"

"I've never had sex before," Maura reiterated.

She hoped for another kiss or reassurance from Jane, but all she was given was a kiss on the cheek before Jane slowly maneuvered herself off of her. They were lying side by side, practically touching, but Jane made no effort to be physical with her. Instead Jane bit her lip and covered her eyes in frustration. "I wish you would have told me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry about being a virgin," Jane told her. "That's your own personal decision and you shouldn't be rushed into sex. I just—I should have known. You were trembling. You were barely touching me."

Without knowing whether or not it was out of line, Maura cuddled up to Jane. "I can still touch you."

"No," Jane insisted. "I can control myself. Yes, you turn me on more than any woman ever has, but I can calm down. Your first time should be special and you should be with a woman who means something to you. You shouldn't lose your virginity during a one-night stand."

Maura had hoped her encounter with Jane could lead to something more than a one-night stand, but her hopes were shattered with a single statement. Instead, she became curious about Jane's sexual history. "Was your first time special?"

"No," Jane responded without hesitation. "That's why I want yours to be."

"What happened?"

Jane trailed her fingertips along Maura's arm. "You've been asking a lot of questions that I'm not comfortable answering."

"I'm sorry the night didn't turn out the way you planned," Maura said glumly. "I can leave."

"No," Jane insisted. "One, I didn't plan on having sex with you or anyone tonight. Two, I'm not letting you leave by yourself in the middle of the night. We can sleep together without sleeping together, Maura."

"You have a lava lamp," Maura pointed out, well aware that she was changing the subject.

"Once again, I'm not a hippie," Jane argued. "That lava lamp was a gift."

With a lack of anything better to say to each other, Jane and Maura stared at the red lava lamp that she had forgotten to turn off before she left that night. It was nothing more than a material possession, but it symbolized so much more for the two of them.

"My roommate has an orange lava lamp," Maura said to break the silence between them. "Her boyfriend bought it for her, but it was more a gift for himself. He likes to stare at it after they have sex."

"What?" Jane laughed. "How do you know that?"

"They've had sex in front of me," Maura said nonchalantly. "Do you stare at yours after you have sex?"

"No," Jane responded. "How do you come up with these questions? Sex is the last thing on my mind when I stare at that lava lamp, which is why I'm staring at it right now. Before you ask, it wasn't a gift from an ex-girlfriend. It was a gift from someone I admired. I _still _admire him. He was like a brother to me."

Maura noticed Jane was referring to him in the past tense and she feared the worst. When she saw the tears pooling in the corners of Jane's eyes, she reached for her hand. The woman she had perceived as tough had completely broken down in front of her and she began to wonder how long Jane had been holding all of this inside of her—how long she had wanted to cry and if she had just been waiting for someone who wouldn't judge her. Without saying another word, Maura wrapped Jane in her embrace and held her as she continued to cry.

It wasn't long before Jane cried herself to sleep still wrapped in Maura's arms. "Happy 1970," Maura whispered as she stroked her hair. She knew Jane was already asleep, but she had the sudden need to be affectionate with the woman who had fallen asleep in her arms. "You're so beautiful and so kind. Thank you for taking me in tonight."

After placing a single, delicate kiss on Jane's forehead, Maura was finally able to fall asleep.

When she woke up a few hours later, she noticed that Jane was no longer in bed with her. _Did she leave the room in the middle of the night? _She had expected to find Jane asleep on the couch, but instead she was in front of the bathroom mirror putting the finishing touches on her hair. "I didn't want to wake you," Jane said as she leaned in for a kiss. "I never thought I'd admit this, but now I know I like being greeted by a naked woman first thing in the morning."

Jane had meant it as a compliment, but Maura suddenly became self-conscious and tried unsuccessfully to hide her body. "Do you mind if I—" Maura began to ask as she gestured toward the shower.

"Help yourself," Jane responded. "I need to leave in half an hour. I have a…family function. In other words, my Ma is forcing me to wake up early and show up for breakfast."

"I'll be out by then," Maura said, trying to hide her disappointment. She had hoped for more time with Jane, but she was thrilled by how Jane's demeanor had changed since last night. She seemed cheerful, to say the least.

While getting dressed in Jane's bedroom after her shower, Maura tore a page out of the address book in her purse and quickly jotted down her phone number. She debated a strategic place to leave the piece of paper before finally deciding to leave it on top of the nightstand next to Jane's bed.

"I left my number on your nightstand. Call me," Maura said before giving Jane a goodbye kiss. What was supposed to be a single kiss turned into several minutes of Jane kissing Maura as Maura kept one hand on the doorknob and one hand underneath the back of Jane's shirt.

"I'm going to be late," Jane pointed out although she wasn't quite ready to let go of Maura.

After another ten minutes spent kissing each other, Maura walked down the hall of Jane's apartment building feeling confident and hopeful and, when she turned around, Jane was still smiling at her from her doorway.


	4. The Times Are Changing

**A/N: Thanks again for your comments and for adding the story to alerts and favs. I got a few requests for longer chapters and I hope this fulfills that. :)**

* * *

Having breakfast together on New Year's morning remained a tradition for the Rizzoli family although all three of the Rizzoli children had entered adulthood. It was a time to reflect on the year that had passed and be hopeful about what was ahead. When Jane, Frankie, and Tommy were children, New Year's Eve was one of the few days in which they'd all get along. The three Rizzoli children would still be excited about the Christmas gifts they had received just days before and they'd willingly share their new toys with each other. It was the one night of the year that they didn't have a set bedtime, so they'd stay up until midnight playing with Lincoln Logs, toy trucks, and train sets. If the weather permitted, there'd be a block party and Jane, Frankie, and Tommy would play with the other neighborhood children while all the adults socialized.

The 1950s were a happy and peaceful time for the Rizzoli family. Frank Rizzoli, a World War II veteran, had been born into a working-class family that barely managed to scrape by during the Great Depression. Upon listening to Roosevelt's address to the nation shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he knew it was his patriotic duty to enlist and he did so a year later on his eighteenth birthday. He left his high school sweetheart, Angela, behind in Boston with his class ring and a promise that they'd get married as soon as he returned. An Allied victory in 1945 brought Frank home to Boston with opportunities available to him that he hadn't thought possible. America's economy had recovered from the Great Depression and, because of the G.I. Bill, Frank was able to start his own business and afford a house for himself and his new wife Angela.

Jane, their first child, was born in 1947, followed by their first son Frankie in 1949 and their youngest child Tommy in 1951. Throughout the '50s the Rizzoli family thrived, as did most families in the neighborhood, and their three children were the light of their life.

There were Girl Scout meetings for Jane, Little League games for Frankie and Tommy, and play dates with the neighborhood children. Frank would be home every evening for dinner that Angela had somehow found time to prepare in between driving the children to their activities and helping them with their homework. For years, the Rizzoli family was like a picture of Americana, but all of that changed as the 1960s wore on.

The spring of 1960 marked the beginning of Jane's teenage years and, like almost all other girls at her junior high school, she spent her free time listening to records and watching _American Bandstand _with her friends. Her mom encouraged her to shed her tomboy image and, once she did, Jane Rizzoli became what many people considered to be the all-American teenage girl: pretty, popular, and a friend to anyone who needed one. She had a steady boyfriend in junior high school and was voted "Prettiest Girl" by her eighth grade class, but none of it felt right to Jane. At fourteen, she already felt trapped and she grew weary of trying to fit the pre-conceived notion of femininity and what it meant to be a young lady, but with her mother, her peers, and teen magazines saying what was to be expected from her, Jane found it difficult and often tiring to shake the image of who she was and become who she wanted to be.

Regardless of how old she was getting, Jane was Frank and Angela's little girl and they'd do whatever they could to shelter her from the changing world. There was a war, an arms race, and civil and political unrest, but they wanted none of that to affect Jane. Jane Clementine Rizzoli was to graduate from high school, marry a nice boy from the neighborhood, and raise a family just as her mother and grandmother had done, but that wasn't enough for Jane. She wanted more out of life; what she wanted she wasn't exactly sure but she knew she wanted nothing to do with the domestic sphere.

It was her cousin Mario that took her under his wing and introduced Jane to what was happening in the world. Mario was the same age as Jane, but intellectually she though of him as much older. He belonged to Jane's popular crowd, but like Jane he felt there was more to life than high school football games and going to the drive-in on Saturday nights and it wasn't long before the two of them separated themselves from their friends. Together, they read books and watched news broadcasts about the war and the Civil Rights Movement. They didn't see themselves as better than their friends, but they knew they were different in a way that they couldn't fully comprehend.

During their senior year, Jane confessed to him that she was never happy with any of the guys she had dated and she never felt what any of her friends felt when they kissed guys. She was attracted to a female classmate, but it was a secret that stayed between her and Mario and it was a feeling that Jane never acted on. There was never any judgment between the two of them and Mario enjoyed the fact that he could talk about girls and women with Jane. Mario loved the female gender in a way that most of their male classmates didn't. He had no desire to have a girlfriend or get married because he felt as if marriage should be abolished. He believed in love, but he was against the idea of having ownership over a woman, which was what he thought marriage and relationships implied.

After high school, Jane and Mario enrolled in a community college, Jane attending full-time and Mario attending part-time so he could hold down a steady job. It was during their first year in college that Jane and Mario were introduced to the counterculture—or hippies—as they had been called. They didn't immerse themselves in the counterculture and they didn't flock to San Francisco like so many young people during the Summer of Love, but for once they felt as if they weren't alone. There were so many others of their generation who wanted more than materialism and who believed in love and ending the injustices in the world. By the beginning of 1967, Jane had one foot in her parents' world and one in the counterculture and she was afraid to take the plunge into either one, but as time passed Mario lost himself in a world of free love and free-thinking.

It was during this time that Jane had her first sexual experiences with women. None of these women, though there were several, meant anything to Jane and she had no doubt that she meant nothing to them. At every social gathering Mario took her to, there was 'free love' and at least one or two women that wanted to 'love' Jane and 'connect' with her on a whole new level. She was hesitant the first time, but they told her she needed to 'expand her mind.' It was all their terminology and not Jane's, but she was curious at the time and wanted to explore her attraction to women. It was during those sexual encounters that Jane truly found herself, but not in the way that she had expected. Each encounter with these nameless women, although pleasurable at the time, left her feeling emptier than the last. She wasn't like them; she didn't believe in free love and she knew there was more to love than just sex.

"You're going to call me a square," Jane told Mario at some love-in that he insisted she attend.

"You're here, aren't you?" he pointed out. "That proves you're not a square."

"I know this is a movement, not a scene," Jane began. "But I don't belong here. I don't want to do drugs. I don't want to expand my mind the way everyone else here does. I wanna be a cop."

"A cop?" Mario shook his head. "Jane, you're better than that. I can't let you turn into the enemy."

"I'm not the enemy," Jane insisted. "I still believe in peace. I just want to go about it a different way. You sing songs now and spread the word that way. If I'm a cop, I can help bring peace to this city and make it a safer place."

Mario brushed a few strands of his long, uncombed hair out of his face. "I don't know, Jane. It's a corrupt system."

"It's not a corrupt system. And I can't be corrupted unless I let myself and you know that isn't me. Remember when we pretended we were sheriffs in the Old West back when we were kids?"

"Or the times you thought you were Annie Oakley?" Mario laughed

"We're just—" Jane hesitated. "We both have the same intentions. We're just going about this in a different way. That's all."

"Jane?"

"Yeah?"

"You've kinda always been a square," Mario said as he gave her a hug. "Jane?"

"What now?" Jane asked, trying her hardest to sound frustrated, but she noticed Mario was no longer smiling and, for the first time, she saw tears start to pool in the corners of his eyes. "Mario?" she asked in a softer tone of voice. "What is it? You can tell me."

"I received something in the mail today."

"Your grades?" Jane asked in an attempt at adding levity to their conversation.

"I've—I've only been going to school part-time," he stammered. "I should have gone full-time like my Ma said. Maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Jane held tighter to him. "What wouldn't have happened? You're scaring me."

"I've been drafted, Jane."

It was a single sentence, but it changed the course of Jane's life forever. She put her career path on hold for awhile, although she had earned her Associate's degree, and divided her time between her cousin and a part-time job until he left. He was the best friend Jane had ever had and the only person who truly understood her and as much as she didn't want him to leave, she knew the inevitable would come sooner rather than later. They spent the next few weeks talking and reminiscing, but nothing they did ever felt important enough. Mario was going off to fight in Vietnam, but both him and Jane saw it as nothing other than a death sentence regardless of how much they tried to remain positive. At twenty years of age, Mario's days were numbered and the two of them couldn't accept the fact that he was being sent to fight in a war that he didn't believe was right.

There was a going away party for him the night before he was supposed to leave and Jane wanted to personally tell off each and every one of his guests. They were all family members or friends of the family, many of whom had fought or known someone who had fought in World War II. The men talked of their glory days on the battlefield and Jane suppressed every urge to tell them that this wasn't about fighting the good fight anymore. This was a war in which the men of her generation were sent to fight and possibly die for an ideology that wasn't their own.

Jane managed to remain silent, but the moment her father started talking about Communism, she could no longer keep her opinion to herself. "You're talking about Communism and your political beliefs, but neither of you men are going to die for them. Your sons and your nephews and their friends are. This isn't World War II. We're not liberating anyone. We weren't attacked. There is no enemy other than ideology and that's what this war is about—stopping the spread of an ideology."

"Your daughter is a Commie, Frank," one of the men joked, but Frank took his words to heart.

"I didn't raise a Commie," Frank yelled at her. "And I sure as hell didn't raise a pacifist."

"I'm not a Communist, Pop, and I'm not a pacifist, either," Jane yelled back at him. "I just don't believe everything the media tells me. I know how to think for myself, unlike you."

Never before had Jane seen so much rage in her father's eyes. If she were a man, he would have hit her, but since she was a woman he did what would last longer and be more psychologically damaging than hitting her: he disowned her. "I want you out of my house and out of my life right now, Jane," he yelled in front of everyone. It was the first time he had called her Jane instead of Janie and that hurt more than she'd let anyone believe. As she walked away from the party, she heard him say to one of his brothers, "How did my little girl turn into her? Her beliefs, her lifestyle—she's a disgrace to this family."

Once his anger subsided, he was able to talk Jane out of leaving, but the damage had been done. There was now tension in the Rizzoli household, even more so than when Jane had 'come out.' Her parents had accepted her being a lesbian, although it had taken them some time and they didn't exactly want that for their daughter, but it was her beliefs that they couldn't handle. Whether she loved men or women, they wanted her to settle down, but relationships were the least of Jane's concerns. She wanted a career—one that her parents thought was too dangerous for a woman and she wanted to be able to express her beliefs without being shunned.

Her father's outburst at the party made Jane feel even less emotionally prepared for her cousin's departure the next morning. As he stood facing her in the front yard of his house—the yard they played Duck Duck Goose and Mother May I in when they were children—Jane noticed that Mario was just a shadow of his former self. They were born one month apart, but he looked as if he had aged before his time. He had bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep and Jane knew he hadn't slept much since he had received his draft letter. The same Mario who was once so full of life and so optimistic about bringing peace and love into the world now looked like a condemned man and it was almost painful for Jane to face him. She knew she owed it to him, though; if she was scared and hurting, she could only imagine how he must have felt.

Mario smirked. "My family is going to have a gold star soon." Jane looked at the Blue Star Flag displayed in the window of his family's living room. Throughout the latter half of the decade, Jane had seen countless Blue Star Flags displayed in her neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods, each representing a family member that was currently fighting in the war or, as Jane saw it, each representing another member of her generation who was most likely fighting in a war he didn't believe in. If a family had lost someone in combat they would change the blue star to a gold star, but that wasn't going to happen to Mario's family or so Jane hoped.

"You're gonna come back," Jane tried to reassure him. "President Johnson is gonna put a stop to this war."

"You honestly believe Johnson is going to put a stop to this?"

"No," Jane shook her head. "To be honest, I never did."

"They all lie, Jane. They're all corrupt," he pointed out. "The only reason Congress and the president decided to go war instead of taking other options is because their sons and grandsons aren't the ones dying. It's the guys from neighborhoods like ours, Jane. I'm grateful Frankie got that baseball scholarship and he's at a good school, but I worry about Tommy."

"Tommy will be fine," Jane insisted. "And so will you." Her voice had started to quiver and she knew Mario could see right through what she was saying. The truth was she didn't know if he'd be fine and she didn't know what the future held for Tommy.

He pulled his peace sign necklace over his head and placed it over hers. "Something to remember me by," he said nonchalantly. "I made some for Frankie and Tommy, but I want you to wear mine."

"I remember when you made this two years ago," Jane commented as she ran her fingers along the medallion. "I'll keep it safe for you until you come back."

Mario raised his arms in frustration. "Jane, you need to accept that I'm not coming back. I'm not a fighter. I can't kill a man. I'm gonna die somewhere in a jungle thousands of miles away from home and this is going to be the last time I see any of you."

And it _was_ the last time she ever saw Mario. She received letters from him for a few months. He wrote about his experiences over there and he asked how she was doing, but everything she wrote felt so trivial regardless of how much he said it wasn't. Letters soon became fewer and further in between and Jane had a horrible feeling that something was bound to happen to him soon. "He's in combat," Angela told her. "It's not that easy for him to send letters." But it was a mere three hours later that Jane saw a car with military personnel pull up in front of Mario's house. The moment she saw a man in uniform, she knew what had happened and she wanted to run over to his house to be with her aunt and uncle, but her mom and Tommy held her back. "Give them some time, Janie," Angela said softly as she held her daughter.

Frank and Angela had tried to shelter their children from the outside world, but their efforts were in vain after Mario's death. Frankie became numb, Jane was filled with so much anger, and Tommy had questions about war and human nature that Frank and Angela just couldn't answer.

"He wasn't even twenty-one yet," Jane told her father as they sat down to dinner just days later.

"I lost friends who were eighteen, some even seventeen," Frank pointed out. "That's war."

"And that's supposed to make everything better?" Jane asked in disbelief. "He wasn't even of age to vote. He was too young to have a say in how this country is run, but he wasn't too young to die for it."

"Jane—" he began, but Jane wasn't about to let him speak.

"No, Pop," Jane interrupted. "You never let any of us speak our mind in this house. What you say goes and we just have to accept it. I'm tired of that and I'm tired of you expecting us to share your beliefs. You can't shelter us forever. Tommy has questions and you should answer them. Frankie hardly comes home from his dorm anymore because he can't put up with you and the pressure you put on him. Let him be his own man. I can't wait until I start at the academy and get my career going so I can leave this place and never come back. You never have anything good to say about any of us. When was the last time you thanked mom for making dinner or for ironing your shirts or for being such a good wife? I've never heard you thank her for anything and I think the last time I heard you compliment me was when I was still having sleepovers with my narrow-minded friends. Times are changing, Pop, and I'm not going to be that perfect daughter you wanted me to be but I'm going to do my best to be a decent person. I just—this has all just been shot to hell—this whole world. Your generation fought for a noble cause and you could have continued to fight the good fight at home, but instead you all bought your houses in the suburbs and your fancy appliances and distracted yourselves from what was happening around you. You're supposed to have been the greatest generation, but what did you all do once you got home? Not a damn thing. It's my generation that protested segregation and my generation that's protesting this war and gender inequality. It's my generation that wants to change the world because our parents fucked it up for us."

Everyone else was startled when Frank slammed his fist on the table, but Jane didn't budge. "I worked my ass off for this family and I will not have you thinking you're better than me or taking that tone with me. You're walking a fine line, Jane."

"I need to get out of here," Jane said as she got up from her seat. "Thank you for dinner, Ma."

That evening, she took her brothers out for milkshakes at a local diner and the three of them talked about everything they had pent up for so long. The Rizzoli family was falling apart because Frank and Angela had chose to put up a façade instead of listening to their children and respecting their right to have an opinion. Sitting at the diner with her brothers was what finally put Jane at ease. She told them about the parties she attended with Mario and the women she had been with and the drugs she had been surrounded by but never wanted to try. Jane didn't know where she belonged and neither did her brothers, but that night they made a pact to stick together and be a support system for each other because they weren't going to get that type of support from their parents or from anyone else.

As the next year and a half passed, Jane achieved her career goals and moved out of her parents' house as soon as she could afford to. Frankie was excelling in school and on the baseball field and Tommy had graduated and gotten a steady job so he could save up for his own place. She kept in touch with her brothers and they'd often show up unannounced at her apartment and, as much as she complained about it, she actually enjoyed having company. There were women in Jane's life—many of them—and she had succumbed to a lifestyle that she had once opposed. It was all an attempt to fulfill a need that Jane couldn't quite comprehend. Maybe she was lonely. Maybe she craved affection even if only for a night. Jane tried not to dwell on it, but so much had happened in her past to lead her to where she currently was.

Although she had remained in contact with her mom, a year had passed since she had set foot in the Rizzoli household, but it was a new year and a new decade and both Frank and Jane were going to attempt to make amends even if only for Tommy's sake. She looked at the piece of paper on her nightstand—the single bit of proof that her night with Maura had actually happened and there were women who wanted more than sex from her.

Maura's handwriting was immaculate and Jane smiled when she noticed the pale pink lipstick kiss underneath her phone number. Hoping it would serve as a good luck charm, Jane slipped the piece of paper in her wallet and headed to her childhood home.


	5. The Wayward Daughter Returns

**A/N: The last chapter focused only on Jane, but I promise there's more Rizzles ahead. Thank you to those who left such lovely comments. Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated. :)**

* * *

Jane leaned against her car in the driveway of her childhood home while she tried to work up the nerve to walk up to the door. She looked at the ensemble she had haphazardly chosen—bellbottom jeans and a white peasant blouse with flowers embroidered on the collar; it was suitable for walking around town or spending time with her brothers, but she knew her parents expected something better from her. They still missed the girl she had been when she was in junior high school and she knew they weren't quite ready to accept the woman she had become.

While stalling for time, Jane debated whether or not she should put on her coat or leave it in her car. She inserted her car key in the lock and unlocked the door, but decided against getting her coat after all. Her coat debate had taken up five minutes, but Jane still wasn't ready to enter the house.

Her mind wandered to thoughts of Maura and how wonderful it felt to wake up next to her. Unlike every woman she had ever been with, Maura wanted more than just sex. She wasn't the first to give Jane her phone number, but she was the first to give it to her in hopes of having more than a physical relationship. Maura wanted to date her—Jane could see it in her eyes—and she was the first woman Jane could actually picture herself dating. It was all just a fantasy and Jane didn't know if she'd actually be ready to date, but she saw herself buying flowers for Maura and taking her to the drive-in and out to dinner. For years Jane had been lonely, but waking up next to Maura changed that for her. Maura was warm and caring and Jane wondered if, perhaps, Maura was what had been missing from her life.

Jane had approached the front door, but before she could knock, she saw the doorknob turn and the door quickly and forcefully open. Her heart raced when she thought it was her father, but she was relieved to see Frankie on the other side of the door clad in his UMASS baseball sweater.

"The wayward daughter returns," Frankie quipped as he blocked the doorway. "Anyone ever say you look like a hippie?"

"You look like a square," Jane retorted. "What's with the crew cut?"

"Coach's new policy," Frankie informed her. "He has a strict no long hair and no facial hair rule."

"Is that Janie?" They heard Angela ask.

Jane had hoped to stall for time with Frankie, but they soon heard the sound of their mother's footsteps coming toward the door. Jane took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for what was ahead. She was on good terms with her mother, but greeting her mother brought her one step closer to being face to face with her father again.

"Ma," Jane said nervously. She was taken by surprise when Angela tightly wrapped her arms around her. Jane knew her mother had no intentions of letting go anytime soon, so she allowed herself to enjoy the moment. Jane was by no means a hugger but after her night with Maura she found herself starting to accept affection.

"I knew you would show up," Angela told her. "Your father didn't think you'd show up, but I knew you would. I told him not to give up on you."

"He gave up on me a long time ago," Jane reminded her. Angela wished she could say that Jane was wrong or she was exaggerating, but he _had _given up on her.

When Jane entered the living room of her childhood home, she noticed that not a single thing had changed. The placement of the furniture and the familiar smell of a home cooked meal filled Jane with a sense of comfort.

Jane enjoyed her apartment and her freedom, but no matter how many photographs and mementos she displayed or how many times she arranged and rearranged her furniture, there was still something _off _about her apartment—something missing. What Jane wanted was warmth, comfort, and a place that truly made her feel home.

"Woodstock is over, Jane," Tommy said as he approached them. "You can change your clothes now."

Before Jane could formulate a response, she noticed her father had entered the living room. _He still looks like he's stuck in the '50s_, Jane thought. His sense of style hadn't changed since Jane was a child, but she hoped his mentality had.

"Pop."

"Janie," he responded completely emotionless. He wasn't angry or so Jane wanted to believe and calling her 'Janie' was a good sign.

An awkward silence filled the room as Jane and Frank tried to think of something to say after a year of not speaking to each other. Should they make small talk? Should there be a hug involved? Jane wasn't sure, but she hoped for some type of distraction.

"Breakfast is ready," Angela announced in hopes of ending the silence.

"I'm starving," Tommy stated. Not another word was spoken afterward, which made Jane uneasy.

They sat down to breakfast in the same chairs and seating arrangement that they had since Jane's childhood and ate the same breakfast that they had eaten every New Year's morning for as long as Jane could remember. Jane wasn't quite sure how, but both nothing and everything was the same about that moment. She remembered being six-years-old and coming downstairs to the kitchen table wearing a cowgirl outfit and holding a cap gun in each hand. Her mom would lecture her about shooting the gun indoors and Frankie would complain to Angela about the unfairness of Jane having a cap gun when he couldn't, but six-year-old Jane and four-year-old Frankie would forget about their squabbles the moment they sat down to eat their New Year's Day breakfast.

The more Jane looked around at her family the more she remembered it was now 1970, not 1954, and Jane knew her family's problems wouldn't be resolved just by sitting down to breakfast.

* * *

As usual, Maura was left alone in her dorm. Where her roommate was, Maura wasn't exactly sure, but she imagined her out with her friends or her boyfriend. The more she thought about Beverly the more she realized she had it all. She may not have been the most lovely or caring young woman Maura had ever come into contact with, but she had a boyfriend who was crazy about her, friends who loved her, and people hung on to her every word when she spoke. Maura knew there were people who also hung on to _her _every word, but that only happened inside the classroom. Professors had always listened to her answers as did her classmates when it'd benefit them.

Outside of the classroom, Maura felt invisible—until the previous night. While she was with Jane, she learned what it was like to be noticed. She had been willing to have sex with Jane and give herself to her so intimately, but Jane held back. She had said it was because she wanted her first time to be special, but Maura knew there had to be another reason.

When Jane had kissed her—even the chaste kisses—Maura felt the sensation coursing throughout her body and she was left wanting more, but feeling so afraid to ask for fear of coming off as too needy. Kissing Jane had opened her up to what had been missing from her life. She wanted female affection and she wanted it from Jane and Jane alone.

It was more than the physical; Maura wanted days and nights spent getting to know each other's interests and quirks and their darkest secrets because she knew Jane had plenty of them. Even when she smiled, Jane was still in a melancholy state and Maura hoped she could bring light into her life. If she had comforted Jane last night, surely she could do it again, but what if Jane never called her? What if she never had the opportunity to see her again?

* * *

Breakfast went on without much conversation between the Rizzoli family except for small talk about football and Frankie's upcoming baseball season. It was a distraction that Jane was entirely grateful for because talking about Frankie left less time to talk about her and every little detail of her life that they disapproved of.

Jane tried to pay attention to the conversation, but her focus was on Maura and how kind she had been the night before. Jane was the one who had invited her to spend the night, but it was Maura who had cared enough to ask her questions and Maura who had held her throughout the night when every other woman she had been with would have left the moment Jane started to cry.

As she thought about Maura, advice her father had given her and her brothers a couple of years ago came to mind. He told them the story about how he had met their mother and how he had almost lost her to another guy because he was too nervous to ask her on a date. "If you want to make her yours," he began, "you have to ask her even if it means setting aside your pride and making a fool of yourself."

With that advice running through her mind, Jane got up from her chair. "Can I use the phone?" she asked, interrupting their conversation.

Angela looked concerned. "Is something wrong, Janie?"

"No," Jane shook her head. "I'm just going to go make a fool of myself."

Although the phone was in the living room, Jane was well aware that her family could hear her entire conversation but, at that moment, she just didn't care. Maura was on her mind and she wasn't going to be able to focus on anything else until she had asked her out on a date.

While holding onto the piece of paper she had given her, Jane carefully dialed Maura's number and waited for her to answer. "Hello?"

"Can I—Can I talk to Maura?" Jane stammered.

"This is Maura."

She took a deep breath. "Hi, it's—"

"It's Jane," Maura interrupted. "I'd never forget your voice."

"Can you talk for a minute?" Jane asked. "I don't know if this is a shared line and someone is waiting for the phone."

"No, I can talk," Maura reassured her. "I'm in graduate housing. Our dorms are like studio apartments and we have private phone lines. We're not like the undergraduates who have to share a pay phone and a bathroom with the entire floor."

"Far out," Jane said absentmindedly. _Far out? Jane, why did you just say that?_

"Smooth," Jane heard her brother Frankie say from the kitchen followed by the sound of Tommy laughing.

"Leave her alone," her father said defensively. The combination of her father defending her and Maura being so pleased to speak to her gave Jane the boost of confidence she needed.

"I'm not on duty Saturday night and I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me," Jane said as poised as she possibly could, but she felt a sudden sense of relief the moment she had gotten that sentence out.

"I'd love to," Maura responded. Judging by the tone of voice she had used, Jane could tell Maura was smiling.

"I'll pick you up at seven," Jane blushed.

After a brief goodbye, Jane hung up the phone. She had asked out the woman she couldn't stop thinking about, but there was just one problem. Jane had no idea where Maura lived.

She rushed back to the phone before her brothers could add their commentary and dialed Maura's number again. "I don't know where you live," Jane blurted out the moment Maura answered the phone. "I forgot to ask."

"You forgot to ask and I forgot to tell you," Maura giggled. "I was caught up in you asking me on a date."

"And I was caught up in you saying yes," Jane added.

The walk to the kitchen after getting Maura's address, regardless of how short, still felt like a walk of shame to Jane. She wanted nothing more than to hide, but she knew she had to face her family and their endless questions.

"Janie, you have a date?" Angela asked the moment Jane sat down.

"Yeah," Jane tried to say nonchalantly, but the thought of taking Maura out on a date made her blush.

"She's blushing," Frankie pointed out.

"Who is she?" Angela asked. "Do I know her?"

"No."

"Is she the stalker girl from last night?" Tommy asked.

Angela immediately became worried. "Janie, you have a stalker and you're taking her out on a date? Are you sure that's safe?"

"She's not a stalker, Ma," Tommy pointed out. "She's this fox that had her eye on Jane last night while we were outside the bar. Before you say anything, Ma, I wasn't drinking. Me and Lydia were just talking to Jane outside."

"She's not a fox," Jane said defensively. "Well, she is, but she's more than her looks. She's nice and she's smart. She just started medical school."

"A future doctor?" Angela asked. "She's a welcomed change from all those other women you've wasted your time with. When do we get to meet her?"

"I just met her last night, Ma," Jane stressed. "Let me date her for awhile first."

"She sounds like a good kid," Frank added. "Go take her some flowers right now. Surprise her."

"But it's family time," Jane pointed out. "You want me to leave so I could spend time with a woman?"

"Your generation knows nothing about romantic gestures," Angela chimed in. "Surprise her, Janie. The sooner she becomes your sweetheart, the sooner you can bring her here, and the sooner we can stop worrying about you being taken care of."

"Ordinarily, I'd say that I could take care of myself, but I'm not going to argue with you today," Jane informed her. "You're letting me leave so I could see Maura and I'm going to take advantage of that."

"Just be here Sunday," Angela called out as Jane was leaving. "We're having family dinner before Frankie leaves for school."

"Okay, Ma."

"And dress like a girl!" Angela added.

_She couldn't just let me leave, _Jane shook her head.

She knew the reason their attitude toward her had changed was because of Maura, but for the time being Jane was going to accept that. There was a long road toward mending the broken relationship she had with her father and she was going to make her first attempt at mending it on Sunday with a private conversation. What they'd talk about Jane wasn't sure, but after the teasing and countless amount of questions, Jane realized that she missed and maybe even _needed _her family.

Less than an hour later, Jane stood outside the graduate housing building holding onto a vase filled with a colorful flower arrangement to save Maura the hassle of having to find a vase on her own. After a brief mental pep talk, Jane was finally ready to enter the building and surprise Maura.

It was only the first day of 1970 and Jane had already experienced so many firsts since the clock struck midnight. Maura was the first woman Jane had bought flowers for and the first woman she had asked out on a date and Jane hoped it was only a matter of time before she experienced so many other firsts with Maura.


	6. Dating Etiquette

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, but there's still plenty of retro Rizzles ahead. I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)**

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When Jane entered the building, she had expected an apartment setting not unlike her own, but Maura's building was reminiscent of a dormitory rather than a typical apartment building. Before she was granted access to the stairway, Jane was required to fill out a visitor's form stating her name and the name and apartment number of the resident she was visiting. Flashing her badge meant little to the male security guard who made a comment about women taking jobs from men.

She wasn't going to get past him without filling out the form in its entirety, so Jane hurried through it and signed her name at the bottom. "I'm going to let your comment slide this time," she said to the security guard.

If the circumstances were different, Jane would have snapped at him, but this mid to late twenties security guard was the only obstacle between her and Maura and she didn't want to cause any problems that might affect Maura or her chances of visiting her in the future.

Jane smiled when she saw the bulletin boards and posters in the hallway. They displayed reminders for the students and announcements for upcoming events and activities, none of which appealed to Jane, but she wondered if Maura was going to attend any of them.

Jane mentally recited Maura's apartment number, but when she approached apartment 406, she wondered if she was mistaken. Taped to the door was a female symbol painted in purple paint on white paper. It wasn't what she expected from Maura, so she figured it must belong to her roommate.

After straightening out her shirt, Jane worked up the nerve to knock on the door. There was no response after the third knock, but Jane held onto her hope that Maura was home instead of at the library or anywhere else on campus.

"I'll be right there," she heard Maura call out and she felt butterflies in her stomach just because of the sound of Maura's voice.

Jane had expected to see the same immaculate-looking young woman from the night before, but she was surprised by Maura's lack of makeup and hair pulled back in a ponytail. There was no pale pink lipstick or blue eye shadow, yet she somehow managed to look even more beautiful. _There's so many little freckles on her face_, Jane thought as she smiled at Maura. _And there's no eye shadow to distract me from the color of her eyes._

"Are these for me?" Maura asked in hopes of interrupting the awkward silence between them.

"Yeah," Jane said as she nervously handed them over. She wondered how long the two of them had stood there staring at each other, but the moment she saw Maura look at the flowers so adoringly she realized it didn't matter.

"Would you like to come in?"

"That was kind of my intention," Jane smirked. She noticed Maura's cheeks start to redden and she immediately regretted her response. "You don't have to blush in front of me. I've already seen you naked." If Maura weren't staring at her in awe, Jane would have smacked her hand to her forehead. "Maura, I'm sorry—not for seeing you naked, but for—"

Jane wondered what had come over her. She was used to being a smooth talker around women, but there was something about Maura that made her feel completely discombobulated.

She realized Maura was waiting for her to complete her sentence, but she couldn't think of anything to say that would make up for what she had told her. Instead, Jane shut the door behind her and watched as Maura set the vase on her desk and went directly to sit on her bed.

_Would sitting next to her on her bed be too forward of me? Again, Jane, you've already seen her naked. She's already slept in your bed._

"Would you like to sit down?" Maura asked as she patted a spot next to her on the bed.

Jane sat down and looked around Maura's tiny apartment. It was obvious to her which side of the bedroom belonged to her roommate and which side belonged to Maura. Her roommate's side had posters of rallies she had attended and bands she liked along with pictures of her and a guy Jane assumed was her boyfriend. Maura's walls were bare and there were no decorations on her desk save for the flowers Jane had just brought her.

The bouquet Jane had purchased wasn't large nor was it as beautiful as Maura deserved, but she was grateful that it added a touch of cheerfulness to Maura's side of the room. Maura had smiled when she received the flowers and she held them up to her nose to inhale their fragrance. The look on her face was sheer joy and, if that's what it took to bring that expression to Maura's face, Jane was more than willing to surprise her with flowers every opportunity she was given.

_She's looking at you. She's expecting you to say something or she's expecting you to hold her hand._

Without saying a single word, Jane inched her hand closer to Maura's. Their hands were side by side, but neither Jane nor Maura were ready to take the next step.

Maura turned to her and smiled. "You were so different this morning."

"I'm sorry." Jane finally worked up the nerve to hold Maura's hand. "It's just different now. This morning you were a woman who had spent the night so I was confident, but now you're a woman I'm actually going to go on a date with and the first woman I've ever brought flowers to. I guess I'm just nervous."

"Don't be," Maura reassured her. "I've never received flowers before and I've never been surprised like this. In so many respects, we're each other's firsts." She gently squeezed Jane's hand. "I'm so glad you stopped by. I was just going to spend my day reading. I don't get many visitors and it's nice to feel remembered."

"Remembered?" Jane smirked. "I couldn't stop thinking about you even when I was with my family. I called you from my parents' house because I couldn't wait another second. You're not like other women."

"I'm a trip," Maura reminded her. "You've said so yourself."

Jane stifled her laughter. "You are." She lifted Maura's hand up to her lips and placed a single kiss on her hand. Jane was tempted to kiss her once more until she saw an orange lava lamp out of the corner of her eye. "The orange lava lamp," Jane smiled. "Is that the one you were talking about last night?"

"The one my roommate's boyfriend stares at?" Maura asked. "Yes."

Jane traced the palms of Maura's hands with her fingertips. "What do you want to do on Saturday? We can go anywhere you want and do anything you want to do."

"That's not dating etiquette," Maura pointed out. The stunned look on her face made Jane start to smile. "Surprise me."

"I'll surprise you." Jane leaned in to kiss her, her lips barely touching Maura's when they heard the sound of a key in the doorknob.

"My roommate," Maura groaned.

"Should I leave?" Jane asked, although she hadn't moved.

"Please stay." Jane tried to put some distance between them, but Maura wrapped her arms around her and firmly pressed her lips to Jane's. "I've been wanting to kiss you," Maura admitted. "And no one is going to take that from me."

"Not even me?" they heard Beverly ask. When Jane turned to look at her, she noticed her raised eyebrow and hands on her hips. Her stance might have been intimidating for Maura, but Jane was ready to verbally defend her if need be. She gave Maura's hand a reassuring squeeze and Maura squeezed her hand in return.

"It's Maura's room, too," Jane said defensively. "She's a grown woman and she's allowed to have guests."

"I know," Beverly scoffed. "I'm just surprised the Virgin Queen has a libido."

Without saying another word, Beverly went over to her record collection and put a Jimi Hendrix record on. The song playing was one of Jane's favorites because it evoked so many fond memories of Mario and the talks they had.

"Hendrix?" Jane asked.

"Is this killing your mood?" Beverly quipped.

"You managed to do that the moment you walked in," Jane said combatively. "Would it kill you to be nicer to Maura?"

"Mellow out," Beverly smiled. "You don't need to defend her. I like Maura. I don't understand her scene, but I like her."

"My scene?" Maura asked.

Beverly laughed. "You're a trip."

"She is," Jane agreed while she smiled at Maura.

Maura's gaze shifted between Jane and Beverly. "Why does everyone keep saying that about me?"

Without any regard for how Beverly would react, Jane playfully pulled Maura on top of her. "My brother didn't say that about you. He said you were a fox."

"A fox?" Maura asked in disbelief.

"A fox," Jane reiterated.

"That's so degrading," Beverly chimed in.

"My brother respects women and he's a gentleman," Jane began. "Besides, he knows what'll happen to him if he doesn't."

"I'm about to head out," Beverly announced. "It was nice meeting you…"

"Her name is Jane," Maura bragged. "We met last night and she brought me flowers this morning."

Beverly smiled at her. "I never imagined you'd dabble in the love that dare not speak its name. I dig it."

"I dig it, too," Jane responded as she ran her hands along Maura's back. Maura hadn't moved since Jane had pulled her on top of her and she had no intentions of moving any time soon.

"My boyfriend is waiting for me downstairs. We were going to spend some time in here, but I'll leave you two alone. Change the records if you want," Beverly informed them.

"We don't mind if you—" Jane began, but Beverly interrupted her.

"No, no," she insisted. "Maura needs to put her knowledge of anatomy to use."

Both Jane and Maura knew what Beverly was insinuating, but neither were ready to comment, so Jane just smiled as she held on to Maura.

"Dating etiquette," Jane reminded her. "Isn't there a rule about not kissing on the first date?"

"This isn't a date," Maura pointed out. "Saturday is our first date."

"Okay, I won't kiss you on Saturday."

"Jane," Maura began.

"No," Jane interrupted. "You're the one who wanted to follow dating etiquette. I suggest you spend the rest of the afternoon kissing me to make up for it because we're not kissing again until the third date."

Jane knew she wouldn't be able to resist her on their date. She had only known Maura for a few short hours, but she already couldn't get enough of her.


End file.
